


Flash Fanfiction - Episode 15 - Brother vs Brother

by Mindmarvel



Series: Flash Fanfic Introducing Mind Marvel [15]
Category: The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 09:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13878210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mindmarvel/pseuds/Mindmarvel
Summary: Team Flash are up against Roy G. Bivolo, aka Rainbow Raider who whammies Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and the rest of the town with separate emotions. Making all three of them a liability. Eddie Thawne is hell bent on bringing down the Flash with the help of a Thawne family heirloom- Introducing Cobalt Blue.





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie stormed into Captain Singh's office ahead of Barry and Joe. "Captain. You need to take a look at these…" he said as he threw a stack of documents down in front of the chief of CCPD.

"What am I looking at here, Eddie?" Singh asked as he looked over at Joe and Barry, who followed in afterwards.  
"Proof that the Flash is a public menace… we need to stop him!"  
"I don't actually see anything here that points to him being a menace… He isn't hurting anyone Eddie…" Singh argued, half-heartedly. "Do the two of you agree with Eddie's notion here or is he just…" Singh asked Joe and Barry.

"Oh no, this is all him…" Joe replied.  
"Why are you after the Flash?" Barry asked Eddie.

"Why aren't I? He is clearly a vigilante… and we just need to look at the events in Gotham City and Star City to see how that will turn out…" Eddie debated.  
"Thawne, all I see is that he is making our jobs easier on us… and until he commits a crime, we will leave it at that." Singh said as he handed the documents back to Eddie.  
Eddie stormed out of his office, shouldering Barry on his way out. "Hey!" Barry called out, as he ran after him.

"Eddie. What is all this? You said that you had proof?" Barry asked.  
Eddie handed him the papers and showed him one article in particular that stood out from the rest. It was dated back two months ago.  
'Five dead after red lightning strikes.'  
"Red lightning?" Barry asked, "but the Flash emits yellow lightning…" an eerie thought crossed his mind. Barry had only ever met one other speedster, who did emit red lightning… Eobard Thawne.

"Captain Singh won't even look into this case!" Eddie said angrily. He went to storm off.  
"Eddie! I'll help you!" Barry said, stopping Eddie from leaving. "I don't think this guy is the Flash, but whoever he is… I'll help you bring him down!"  
Barry ran over to STAR Labs. He didn't know where he was going to start in his search to relocate Eobard Thawne but he had to start somewhere.

He raced over to Cisco's computer and began searching every public database, every news article and every relatable case that might lead to the speedster's whereabouts.  
"Barry, what's all this about?" Cisco asked, "Ooooh, do we have a case?" Barry was ready to tell his friend everything, and then remembered his promise to DR Fate. He couldn't say a thing about the alternate reality, so he needed to choose his words very carefully.

"Word has it, there's a new speedster in town, he's murdering families and Eddie and I are going to take him down." Barry explained.  
"Eddie and you? I can't help but feel a little hurt here… What happened to Team Flash?" Cisco asked him.  
"You know what I mean. We're all going to take him down, you, me, Eddie, Astrid and Caitlin."

"Now, that's what I'm talkin bout… Give me those and I'll see what I can find. Just promise me that you won't tell Eddie about your…you know… secret identity… But then again, if we're all not careful… He'll just read our minds anyway…" Cisco said as he took the papers and got to work on his computer.  
Barry noticed that his friend was wearing the anti-telepathic communicators. "Didn't Astrid tell us that Eddie couldn't read our minds… that she only thought he could?"

"…That's because Eddie can control minds too… I'm guessing he manipulated her mind and made her forget that he could… or something like that… and here it is…" he said pointing to his screen.  
"Red lightning seen shooting through Central City…" Barry read the screen. The article had not yet been published but had clearly just been written. "This hasn't even been released through Picture News, yet… how did you…"

"Hey… we don't ask magicians how they do their tricks, do we? So, Abra Cadabra!" Cisco replied leaning back on his chair, picking up a pen and tapping it on the screen, before chewing on the end. "But I warn you, be careful of Eddie… Even if Astrid changed her mind about him being able to control minds… I think it's all part of his master plan!"  
"Cisco, you think that everyone is a villain with a master plan these days," Caitlin said as she entered the room holding a tablet in her hands.  
"That's probably because everybody actually is…" Cisco replied.

"Everyone? Or everyone that is dating… Astrid!" Caitlin said as Astrid walked into the room speaking on her phone.  
Cisco nodded at Caitlin as a 'yes' to her question. Astrid ended her phone call and looked directly at Barry. "Your brother is hell bent on capturing the Flash… and apparently you're helping him?"

"Well… I'm not helping him capture the Flash, but there is this other speedster in town… and I guess…"  
"You guess that it could be your mother's killer, but Eddie thinks that it's the Flash, so either way you win, right?" she asked him.  
Barry nodded slowly. "yeah… that pretty much sums it up."

"Well, Ok. Just tell me what you need us to do…" she said with a sigh.  
"Thanks … but there was something else that I've been meaning to talk to you guys about." Barry confessed.  
His friends gave him their undivided attention. "What's on your mind, Barry?" Caitlin asked him.

"The other night… when you were out with Eddie… I received a message from Iris, saying that she needed to talk… it turned out that you were right. She was on to me about having feelings for her… As it happened, she read an old letter that I wrote for her, declaring how I felt about her. She asked me if it were true… and so I told her… and she told me that she doesn't feel the same way." Barry had been speaking very fast, as he was venting.  
"Oh, Barry." Astrid sympathized. She put her arm around his shoulders.

"I'm okay, I promise… but I guess that it just hit me more than I thought it would."  
"Yeah, as it would. If you need to take some time…" Astrid began.  
"No, I don't need time. I just need to focus on being the Flash and bringing down this other speedster." Barry replied.  
"Well, here's your shot, Barry! There's currently red lightning going through Central City right now!" Cisco exclaimed, excitedly, as he watched a red dot shoot across the map on his computer screen.  
Within a heartbeat, Barry was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Barry ran through the city with his red suit, when up ahead he saw the flicker of red lighting. As he got closer he saw the blur of the yellow suit. He knew that suit all too well.  
"Hey!" he called out. The two were standing high up on a rooftop.

The man in the yellow suit turned to face him. "Barry Allen. I've been waiting for you. I was wondering when I would see you again."  
Back at STAR Labs, Cisco, Caitlin and Astrid had heard this part of the conversation, when suddenly there was a beep and they lost connection.  
"Barry! Barry!" they called out in unison, but there was no response.

"Cisco, try and bring up a connection. Hurry!" Caitlin commanded, before Astrid could say so.  
"I'm working on it!" Cisco argued as he typed at full speed.  
"Can you connect to the street footage?" Astrid asked him.

"I can't, I already tried. There is some sort of electrical interference." Cisco continued to type furiously on his computer, there was still no connection with Barry and the red lights had disappeared, entirely. "I don't understand, it's almost like he has just disappeared!" Cisco explained.  
"Like who has disappeared?" Eddie's voice chimed in as he entered the room.

"STAR Labs has a missing hamster… He has an inbuilt tracker so we're trying to find him through the computer…" Caitlin lied. Eddie stared at her, so Cisco took the attention from his friend. "Yeah, it looks like Ralph is gone… like he disappeared or something! He could be dead for all we know!"  
"A hamster?" Eddie asked Astrid. Astrid's reaction surprised her friends, it was as if she were fighting an inner battle within herself. "We don't have a hamster… We were looking for Barry!" she told Eddie.  
Her friends could not believe their ears.

"I should have thought… so where is Barry?" Eddie asked them, "shouldn't he be working?"  
Once again, it looked as if she were fighting an inner battle in her head as she answered Eddie's question, "he went to… he went to… get coffee!" Astrid managed to blurt out."  
"Astrid, are you okay?" Caitlin asked her. She went to pull her friend away, but Eddie stepped in. "She's fine, aren't you?" he asked her.  
"Yeah, I'm fine you guys. Everything is fine." She told them, once again she seemed to be having trouble believing her own words.

Fortunately, her friends did not believe them. "Hey, Astrid… Can I have a word with you for a moment?" Caitlin asked, as she took her friend's hand and led her away.  
Cisco turned back to his computer, breaking off eye contact with the detective. "Cisco, you don't like me very much, do you?" Eddie asked him.  
Cisco slowly turned his chair back around, stood up, and faced the detective.

"Look, I don't know what you're playing at… but you are messing with the wrong person. We know that you are doing something with her head, and as the only person here, who has known her for almost half her lifetime, I know when there is something wrong… and whatever you're doing… you better stop it… right now!" Cisco warned coldly.  
Eddie tried to probe Cisco's mind, but he couldn't get a reading. He stared back at him, ready to strike him if necessary as he was sure that Cisco was ready to do the same.  
"Eddie? What are you doing?" Astrid's voice made the both of them look over in her direction.

Eddie looked back at Cisco who sat back down, gave a brief smile and persisted to chew on the end of his pen as if nothing had happened.  
"Cisco, Caitlin… Eddie and I are going to go and get some coffee… Can the two of you mind the place?"  
"We always do, boss." Cisco said as he waved a friendly 'goodbye' to Eddie.  
As the two left, Caitlin ran up to Cisco. "Did she take it?" he asked her.

"Yeah, she was wearing them as they left. I can't believe that I didn't see it earlier…" Caitlin replied.  
"See? And you guys doubted old Cisco, once again. But until then, we need to figure out where on earth Barry went…" he replied as he sat back down and glanced back at his computer screen.

"Wait… is that him?" Caitlin asked, pointing at the red dot that had reappeared.  
Within seconds, Barry had returned back to STAR Labs.  
"Where were you, man? It was like you had just vanished." Cisco shot out, jumping to his feet.  
"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Caitlin asked him.

"Relax, guys. I must have just been too fast to register… where's Astrid?"  
"She went off with Eddie, and we may have just witnessed him trying to control her mind…" Cisco declared.  
"Cisco, really? Please don't try to start any troub…"

"Barry, he's right…" Caitlin added, "Astrid almost gave up your identity… But we convinced her to put in the anti-Grodd communicators, so hopefully they help…"  
"Caitlin? You're in on this? Eddie's my brother…"  
"Yeah, the brother that you have only known for how long?" Cisco raised his voice, "You should have seen the way that she was acting… It was like she was trying to fight with herself over her own thoughts…"

"Okay, I believe you… So what are we going to do?"  
"That's all work in progress," Cisco replied as he sat back in his seat and began tracking Astrid's phone, as he continued speaking. "You never explained where you went, or what happened with that speedster…"  
"Nothing to tell, it wasn't him…" Barry said bluntly.  
"Nothing?" Caitlin asked, "it can't have been nothing…"

"It was nothing, so… let's just drop it!" Barry stormed out of the room, Caitlin went to follow him but her phone started ringing. "It's Ronnie. I need to take to this." She said as she left Cisco typing at his computer.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think your friends are out to get me." Eddie said as he stared at Astrid from over the table.  
"You're paranoid." She replied.

"Am I? You know as well as I do that I can read your mind, just like I can read everyone else's minds… but now I can't, why is that?" he asked her.  
"I don't know what you're talking about." she lied.  
"But you do… and unless you want me to bring down a real wrath on you and your friends, I suggest you start talking."  
"What are you talking about? Reading minds is impossible!"

"Do you see that man there?" he asked her, directing their attention to a man fumbling around. "He is about to pull out a weapon." It certainly seemed to be the man's first time at any crime, much less holding up a coffee shop.  
Eddie slowly stood up, just in time for the man to pull out a rifle and hold up the coffee waitress at the counter. Before Astrid could pull out her phone, Eddie had already held his pistol at the man, along with his badge. Before long, sirens had begun to arrive on to the scene.

The man was arrested, and Eddie was labelled the hero, even though it was as if the man had no recollection of what he had just done.  
"You forget, Astrid… I know that you can read minds…" Eddie said after the commotion had died down, "Just as I know that the rest of your team are hiding things, and while you may not know who the Flash is… you know more than you're letting on. So we can either do things the easy way or the hard way."

"What do you want?" Astrid asked him in a low voice. She couldn't read his mind as the anti-telepathic communicator dampened her own powers, but at least she had control of her own. She was relieved that her friends were on to what was going on.  
"I want you to help me bring down the Flash." Eddie said.

"Considering, you can't control my mind at the moment… What's stopping me from going to Captain Singh and telling him that you're abusing your sense of power?"  
"Good question, but do you really want to know?"  
Astrid looked at him, and it was clear that she didn't want to know the answer.  
"So help me take him down." Eddie was alerted to the sound of his phone going off. There was a situation at the bank.  
He jumped to his feet and went to leave, as he went to do so, he leant down and whispered into her ear. "I'd keep a good eye on your friends if I were you…" he told her and he left the coffee shop.

Astrid returned to STAR Labs to find Cisco and Barry gathered around Caitlin as she sat in her med bay.  
"Ok, Cisco… as much as you are going to do your little happy dance… I'm admitting it once and once only… you my friend were co… What's going on? Caitlin, is everything ok?"  
Caitlin had her face buried in her hands. So Astrid knelt down to comfort her.

"I just received a phone call from Ronnie's phone. But it was Gotham City's police department. Ronnie and Dr Stein have gone missing." Caitlin said through sobs.  
"Don't worry, Caitlin. I promise you, that we will find them." Barry told her.  
"Barry, can you go over to Gotham City? See what you can find?" Astrid asked.

"I kinda already did… shortly after Caitlin got the phone call. I got back just before you returned. It seems that the Flash isn't actually all that welcome there." Barry replied.  
"Yeah, Batman isn't a fan of other heroes, particularly metas showing up in his city…" Cisco added.  
"Considering the stunt he pulled here last week… I think he owes us one," Astrid said angrily.  
"Please we need to find them." Caitlin said through tears.

"Don't worry, Caitlin. You have my word. We will find them." Barry promised.  
"So what were you saying earlier about my happy dance?" Cisco asked. Astrid had just received a message on her phone.  
"Never mind that now. Apparently the art gallery has some sort of package for STAR Labs?" she asked a little confused.  
Cisco's eyes grew wide. "Actually, how 'bout Caitlin and I go and sort that out. It will do us some good to take a break. It's nothing that you need to worry about…" Caitlin and Cisco immediately jumped to their feet and left as fast as they could.

"…right." Astrid said, as she and Barry looked confused. "Barry, I think Cisco was right about Eddie."  
"But I thought you said that…"  
"That I was mistaken? Yeah I thought I was too. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this, but Caitlin asked me to humor them and use the anti-telepathic communicators… I did and Eddie admitted it to me. He was stumped as to why his mind control wasn't working… and now I feel all dirty all over just knowing that he could get into my head that way." Astrid began.

"Knowing that you have been acting like his love sick lapdog all weekend?" Barry commented, "The two of you never…"  
She knew just what he was insinuating, "Gross! Hell no! I mean, I know that at times I didn't have control of my own mind… but still… it wasn't Frost/Caitlin bad… but thankfully, he ran back to CCPD, something about a situation at the bank. Maybe you should go on over there… I have a few things to do here, then I think I'm going to take a shower to wash off the very thought… Eugh! No offence…"  
"None taken. Alright… I'll be careful with him." Barry replied as he turned and left.

Cisco and Caitlin arrived at the art gallery. "I can't believe that they messaged her phone!" Caitlin said.  
"Yeah… that might have been my fault…" Cisco added, she will freak when she sees it. "The hand painted portrait of her family, when her parents were both alive."  
As a man stormed past them, he looked at the pair, it was as if there were something wrong with his eyes. They were consistently changing colors. He looked at Caitlin and she saw nothing but blue.

When he looked at Cisco, he saw nothing but purple. Another man saw red and immediately began yelling. He pulled out a firearm, causing a large commotion. Other people in the art gallery began to yell, scream and hide at the deafening sound of gunshots.  
Caitlin ran behind a counter and began to cry. So Cisco joined her and sent Barry and SOS alert.  
"Caitlin, come on. You need to get up, bring out Frost!" Cisco told her, but her head was being cradled in her hands from where she sat. She was sobbing hysterically.  
When the scarlet speedster arrived on to the scene, he managed to apprehend the gunman, who had been entirely overcome with rage. Barry cuffed him up and told Cisco to get Caitlin out of there and back to safety, so Cisco obeyed.


	4. Chapter 4

"So it seems like it was caused by some sort of meta-human. None of the witnesses even knew what they were doing or why." Barry explained. They looked at Caitlin who had withdrawn to her medical bay.

"It's like they were all overcome with pure emotion, which made them react in the way that they did. Look at her," Cisco said sadly, referring to Caitlin.  
"I'm surprised that you weren't affected… did you remember seeing anything at all?" Barry asked Cisco.  
"I thought I saw a glimmer of purple in his eyes. But that was it. nothing!" He replied.  
"I'm going to follow up with CCPD. Will Caitlin be okay, here?" Barry asked him.

"Yeah of course, where did Astrid leave to? She should know what's going on." Cisco wondered.  
"She said something about doing a few jobs and then going to wash off the thought of Eddie." Barry replied, with a laugh. He took one last glimpse at Caitlin. Barry felt the need to help her, but knew it would be best if he found out what the hell was going on first.

Astrid climbed out of the shower in the ladies' restroom on the 97th floor. She wrapped her towel around her and dried her hair with the second towel. She thought that she had heard the door open, but she knew that all her friends had left already, so she ignored it.  
It wasn't until she saw the reflection of Cisco, in the mirror, that she jumped. "Cisco, this is the ladies room… whatever it is, can it wait? Give me ten minute's tops to get dressed, and then I'll be out there…"

But he didn't leave, instead he grabbed her by the waist and held her against the wall ready to kiss her.  
"Cisco, what are you doing? we shouldn't be doing this!" she told him, confused.  
"Read my mind, you already know. I'm just tired of this 'will they - won't they' 'Ross and Rachel' tension, I love you and you know that I love you, so what's stopping us from being together?" he asked her.

"Cisco, you're my best friend and, um…" she really couldn't think of any reasons. She knew how she felt about him and here he was, the feeling clearly mutual. So she gave in. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, passionately.

Barry arrived at CCPD where the station was all a bustle. "Barry, where were you? We've been getting reports that the entire city has been affected by an overwhelming wave of emotions, so far fear, anger, passion, sadness and even nausea, and my bets are on another meta human!" Captain Singh barked at Barry on his entrance.  
"I'm sorry Captain. What do we know?" Barry asked him.

"Well it started over at Central City National bank, then there was a repeat at the art gallery… It's spreading like some sort of virus!"  
"Why are you thinking meta-human?" Barry asked, just in time for Joe and Eddie to enter the office.  
"Because of this footage that was taken over at the bank earlier." Eddie said handing him a picture of a man who had some sort of glint in his eyes. It reminded Barry of what Cisco had told him.

"Do we have a name?" Barry asked.  
"He goes by the name of Roy G. Bivolo," Joe said, "Word has it, he was a failed artist due to color blindness. His father made him some sort of high-tech glasses that allowed him to see colors… Roy went missing just after the meteor shower and this is the first, that we have heard from him since."  
"So, you're saying the glasses must have merged with him during the time of the meteor shower?" Barry suggested. "It doesn't explain the color emotion manipulation."  
"Actually, it does." Eddie added, "that meteor shower has been known to affect numerous people in many different ways… and after I did a little investigation, this afternoon, I found out that Roy was actually a patient of Astrid's. The man is highly emotionally unstable. That would be the emotional link."

"Good police work, Eddie." Captain Singh replied, "if you keep this up I might actually approve your request for the meta-human task force…"  
"Task force?" Barry repeated, as Singh bypassed them to round up the other officers. Eddie nodded, "do you want in? The Flash is on the top of my list."  
Barry was about to protest, when there was a report of another art gallery being targeted. He slipped away, only noticed by Joe, and left to take care of the crime, as The Flash.  
Barry reached the art gallery in time to see the chaos. He ran through the crowds, looking for the man known as Roy. When alas, he saw him. Fortunately, the man hadn't yet seen Barry.

The Flash knocked him to the ground, and brought out a set of meta-human cuffs. One of Roy's victims shot a bullet at Barry's legs, it just grazed him.  
The Flash grimaced in pain, just in time for Roy to get to his feet and knock Barry to the floor. Roy looked directly into The Flash's eyes. Barry saw the color red, and within an instant was overcome with such anger and hatred. He noticed Eddie enter the art gallery.

The remainder of the officers were apprehending the crowds of people, but Eddie's full attention was on The Flash and Roy. Roy looked over at Eddie, who also saw the color red.  
"Eddie… shoot Roy!" Barry yelled, his tone full of anger. But as Eddie pulled the trigger, his weapon was not drawn at Roy, but on the Flash.  
Barry ran at Eddie, forgetting about Roy and throwing Eddie to the floor. "You manipulated my friends!" Barry yelled at him, who continued to shoot at the red speedster.  
"And you're nothing but a power hungry vigilante… a coward who has to hide his face behind a mask!" Eddie yelled back. Every time Eddie went to shoot at Barry, the speedster would duck and dodge. It was clear that he was indeed faster than a bullet.

Eddie knew that if he could touch the speedster's skin, the talisman that he was wearing would allow him to absorb that speed. It would make him just as fast as the scarlet speedster himself.  
He tried to read his mind, but he could not get a reading. Then, as a stroke of luck, the Flash came at him again, this time punching Eddie.  
Eddie continued to receive the knocks. But then he took notice of the man's mouth and his eyes. He knew those features too well. "Barry." Eddie mouthed, softly.  
He brought his hand up to the Flash's face and immediately felt the rush that had overcome him. The talisman's powers had worked again. He had absorbed the Flash's speed.  
Along with the anger that coursed through Eddie's veins, he had the speed to rival the red speedster himself. He punched at the masked man, over and over, knowing with his whole heart that it was his brother. Eddie's only objective was to kill him where he stood with every last hit.

But then he heard a voice call out. "Eddie! Stand down!" It was Joe, he was holding a gun aimed at the detective's head.  
The Flash stared at Eddie and then looked over at Joe. Then, as if something had clicked inside of him, he disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

Too consumed in her own sorrow, Caitlin let Frost take control. Frost slowly paced through the office. It had been a couple of days since she had been in control, and she needed to become caught up with what had been happening.

She knew that Amunet had turned against her, thanks to the hold that the blue flame drugs had on her. Now Frost's love was in prison. She would need to handle that, but judging by the breaking news report, being broadcasted all over the television, Amunet would need to wait a little while longer. Especially because this overwhelming wave of sadness had taken over Caitlin's entire body.

Frost could feel the sadness, but she had become desensitized to this feeling for a long time now, her heart had almost become cold.  
Where was the Flash? Wasn't he meant to be the hero of this city? As Frost looked up she saw Caitlin's friends enter the room, as usual, the two of them looked entirely wrapped up in each other. But this time it seemed different.

Astrid was the first to ask, "Frost… What's going on? Why isn't Caitlin…"  
"Why isn't she in control?" Frost asked, "I could ask the two of you the same thing… But if you don't yet know… Caitlin has been overcome with a crippling amount of sadness, she couldn't cope… and by the looks of things on the news over there… so has the rest of the town."

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, as she walked over to the television. She gave the news report her undivided attention. Instantly, everything began to make sense to her… including Cisco's odd behavior, which she had stupidly given in to.

"Cisco… the two of you were at that art gallery earlier… You must have been… affected" she said quietly, immediately blaming herself. She stopped speaking when she noticed that Frost was still watching her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Astrid, no… even if I was affected, it doesn't change anything…" he called after her as she went to storm off.  
"Cisco, it changes everything!" she shot back, just in time for the Flash to return.  
"Changes what?" Barry asked them, he seemed very frustrated.

"Never mind!" Astrid said with a tone, "what did you find out, Barry?"  
"Why ask me? Why do the three of you always put everything onto my shoulders. 'Barry- this has happened – can you fix it? Barry- that has happened – can you fix that? I'm done being the hero! You know what? Now Eddie has absorbed my powers and he knows my identity and it's all your fault! Because of your stupid Grodd-like mind control powers!" he shot at her.

"Woah woah woah, man! Don't you even think about talking to her like that!" Cisco snapped at Barry in her defense. He was standing very close to Barry. "If it weren't for her you would have died over at Central City hospital… Maybe we should have just allowed for that to happen… you wouldn't be sniffling around every chance you get! Besides, Weren't you ready to believe Eddie over the rest of us anyway? Considering we've all been like family since day one?"

"You guys. Stop it!" Astrid yelled out, but neither one of them listened.  
Barry directed his anger at Cisco "Always the sidekick, Cisco… never the hero. For the one guy who is so obsessed with movies, you just don't get the hint, that the best friend… in your case – the side kick… never gets the girl… one of them always dies, sacrificing their life for the other… it doesn't turn out well for either one of them! Especially when one of them has her own destiny! You'll never amount to anything, when you're always hiding behind her shadow! But, what is this? You're actually standing up to me? Have you finally grown some b…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Cisco punched him in the face and pushed him. He had more strength than Barry had previously thought. Astrid went to step in, but Frost pulled her out of the way and shot a beam of ice, which immediately separated the two by hitting Barry and bringing him down.  
Cisco walked over to Astrid, unaffected by Barry's current condition, and said, "Thanks, Frost, he was starting to get on my nerves… Now, Astrid… what were we doing? how 'bout you and I go back to your place and…"

Astrid raised her eyebrows at him. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. It was clear that both he and Barry were unstable. She needed to restrain them both. Fortunately, she had an idea. She walked over to his work table, and reached for a set of handcuffs.

She knew that humoring Cisco would be the best way to trap him. "Ok, Cisco, whatever you want me to do… Just, please put these on for me, first." She told him.  
He looked over at Frost and Barry who were watching them, but he put the cuffs on, regardless. Before they were locked in place, she quickly cuffed him to the table.  
"Hey… What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Sorry, Cisco… Barry, you guys will thank us later." Astrid said as she cuffed Barry to the other side of the table.  
Frost approved of her ways and the two of them went over to the computer to begin their search.

Suddenly, Astrid's phone rang. "Joe, what the hell is going on? We have both Barry and Cisco cuffed to the table… it's like they have both been… I dunno 'whammied'?"  
"Barry was affected by Roy! Thank god, you have Barry handled! Because right now a menace Flash is the last thing we need, especially since the perp has escaped. Have you heard the news reports? I need you to bring me everything on Roy G. Bivolo. Better yet, I'm on my way there… I have news on Eddie." he told her.

"Come on! Take these cuffs off! I'm your only shot to save Central City!" Barry demanded angrily as he rattled the cuffs.  
"Look, man. It's no use… you know how stubborn she can get." Cisco said, "but these definitely give me an idea for later on." He added loud enough for her to hear.  
"This is growing very old, very fast." Astrid muttered under her breath as she logged onto the STAR Labs database which listed every client, that she had ever dealt with, in the past.  
As Joe entered their office, he eyed Barry and Cisco. "Joe. You have to get me out of here!" Barry demanded of the detective.

"I would son, but it's for your own good." He then looked at Astrid, impressed that she and Frost had trapped the two so easily. "did Barry tell you? Eddie knows his identity. I also think that he was affected." Joe said.

"Joe, I don't get you!" Barry yelled out at the detective, "you always claim to have my back… yet you never actually do…" Joe tried to ignore his adopted son's words, but Barry continued. "I mean where are you on my mother's case? Have you caught the speedster yet? Or is that because you're just a rotten cop. My father is still rotting behind bars because of you! You even told me to stop worrying about protecting the city. It's clear that CCPD are just a bunch of useless officers who need me to do their job for them! But then that is the one thing…no, the only thing that I have going for me at the moment! I bet you even let Roy escape because you were too caught up in…"

"Barry!" Astrid yelled at him.  
"Astrid, its ok… I get it… he's under that… influence." Joe said softly, "it's just a good thing he is cuffed in here and not… free, out there."  
Frost who had been enjoying the show for the time being, looked over at the profile that Astrid had pulled up. "Am I the only one who sees that?" she asked, she knew that Caitlin had spotted something alarming.

"Sees what?" Joe asked.  
"That the colors of the rainbow all start with the letters of his name?"  
"How the hell did you get that thought?" Astrid asked her, shocked by the notion.  
"That was Caitlin!" Frost announced.  
"She might be on to something… Can you bring her out?" Joe replied.

Within moments, Caitlin had reemerged, her hair had gone back to dark and Joe was quite marveled at the transformation, itself.  
But Caitlin was very distraught. "Caitlin, I need you to focus." Astrid told her friend softly. She was trying to reverse the emotional manipulation. "What were you referring to?"  
"It's just a theory, Caitlin said softly. "But what if reversing Roy's power has to do with alternating through the colors of the rainbow?"  
"Caitlin… that sounds…" Joe began.

"Like the only idea we have at the moment." Astrid finished. "I know that Cisco will probably hate this… but I think the name Rainbow Raider sounds perfect for this guy…"  
"Rainbow Raider? that name sounds pretty cool. I approve!" Cisco called out.  
"Yeah… he has definitely been affected." Joe replied.  
With the attention not on Barry, the speedster had managed to find a screw driver on the desk and unlocked the cuffs. Within moments he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'll find him. I bet he's gone to find Eddie!" Joe said as he left quickly.  
"Okay… well, we'll try to find a way to reverse the effects on the entire city." Astrid replied, as she removed the screw driver that Barry had used, far from Cisco's reach.  
She noticed Caitlin in her medical bay, and went to approach her until she heard Cisco speak. "So, I may have been affected… but you weren't. What is your reason for what happened earlier?"

"Cisco, just drop it, ok?" she told him as she attempted to pass.  
"I would, but we need to sort out whatever… this is… and I for one…" he continued on, but Astrid ignored the rest of his sentence and went to speak with Caitlin.  
"I might have an idea." Caitlin told her as she approached.

"Yeah? I'm all ears." Astrid replied as she glanced over at Cisco. He was watching them from his spot at the table.  
"If we can broadcast the pattern of colors through phones, tablets, televisions throughout Central City… maybe we will be able to reach everyone that has been affected."  
Caitlin still seemed to be very upset, but at least she was trying to help.  
"That sounds great," Astrid boasted.

"I'm guessing the reason Cisco didn't say it first is because, he is enjoying every minute of being in this situation. What's funny is that most of the people who were hit by lust, fell for the ones closest to them… but he didn't. It begs me to wonder, did something happened between the two of you earlier?" Caitlin asked.  
"Right now, I'd rather we just focus on the task at hand, and thanks Caitlin. I don't know what we'd do without you."

Barry kept running and running throughout the city until he found Iris sitting outside CCPD, waiting for her father. For a moment he forgot that he was still wearing his red suit. Regardless, he took a hold of her and brought her onto the rooftop to talk and not be disturbed.  
"Iris!" He said, his voice vibrating.

"Flash… Wow, I can't believe this, you're actually here. Wow. Barry would not believe this."  
"How could you hurt him that way!" Barry demanded of her.  
"Er, I'm not sure what you're talking about, who? Barry?"  
Barry nodded.

"How do you know? He told you?" she asked bitterly. "Well if you must know, I was honest with him. That's it. He needed to know the truth, and I'm sorry if that hurt him. Besides, I have to focus on my career… I'm going to be a journalist and right now that comes first!"  
"Flash… you need to leave Iris alone!" Barry heard Eddie's voice from behind him. The man had followed him.  
"Eddie!" Iris exclaimed.

"You heard me, unless you want me to reveal to her, who you really are!" Eddie added.  
Iris had heard this part of the conversation. Who are you?" she asked the Flash, but he ignored her.  
"Eddie, I don't intend on harming her… you should know that!" Barry told him as he turned to face his brother.  
Iris could see the blood curdling anger between the Flash and the man that she knew as Barry's brother.  
"Iris, get out of here!" The Flash demanded of her.  
"But…"

"Now!" he demanded of her, and she ran towards the rooftop door to get to safety.  
"Barry! You should have trusted me! You should have told me that it was you!" Eddie shouted at him, but he didn't dare to move one step just yet.  
"Yeah? and what would that have cost me? You hate the Flash as it is… Am I a bad person for wanting to hold on to my brother for a little while longer?" Barry asked him. Anger shot from his eyes. "How did you absorb our powers?"  
A smirk cross over Eddie's face. "An old Thawne family secret. Are we going to do this? I no longer care who you are… I just want to bring you down!"  
Within a second the two of them, fought head to head. Fighting to the death, neither one caring who killed the other. To the outsider it was a blur of yellow and blue lightning.

"Barry's signal is going!" Astrid gasped as she ran over to Cisco's computer, leaving Caitlin working with a program on the tablet that was meant to help Central City.  
"It'll be a lot easier if you just un-cuff me!" Cisco called out.

Astrid glanced over at him, as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing on the screen, "You might be right… but you need to promise me, if I free you… no funny business! You keep your mouth shut and you stay right away from me."

"Okay, okay. You have my word… for now!" Cisco said, as she freed him. As true to his word, he raced over to his computer. "It looks like Barry is on the roof of CCPD and… he is fighting his brother… and it looks like Eddie is heavy into the blue flame dust… He's become… Wow! He's emitting some sort of blue lighting… I think he has actually become Cobalt Blue!"

"What do you mean? I thought that was just the name of the flame…"  
"It was… but man, look at these readings… Eddie's just… he's become it!"  
"Didn't Joe say that Eddie may have been affected by Roy?" Astrid asked. "Oh god, this is more than just sibling rivalry… they're going to kill each other…" She pulled out her phone and messaged Joe of their location. She turned her back on her friend for a moment.

As soon as she did, Cisco grabbed her and went to kiss her again, but this time she pushed him back and restrained him. "Cisco, no, don't! Caitlin! Get working on that rainbow vision thing, now! please!"  
She threw Cisco to the floor, but he got back up and ran towards her again, which lead to her restraining him again.

She looked up at where Caitlin had been sitting, but Caitlin was simply gone. "Caitlin?" Astrid called out, she dropped Cisco back down to the floor.  
"I think she may have just left to give you and I a little privacy. If you ask me, I think we need it! This is exciting!" Cisco said.  
"I'm sorry, Cisco. I know you're going to hate me when you wake up." Astrid said, as he got back to his feet and tried to come at her again.  
"What, what do you mean?" he asked.

Before he could think, she threw a punch which knocked him out. "I'm sorry, Cisco!" she said, as she ran over to Caitlin's tablet which displayed the rainbow project. She needed to work out how to make it go public.


	7. Chapter 7

Joe and Captain Singh held their weapons pointed at Roy. "Alright, don't anybody look him in the eye!" Captain Singh called out to the men.  
"Do you really think that you can bring me in, officers?" Roy asked, "if you can't even look at me." He told them menacingly. He was daring them to do so. He took a step forward and Singh readied his gun, "One move and I'll shoot." The captain threatened.  
However, two of his men had already locked eye contact with Roy and aimed their weapons at Joe and Singh.

"er, Captain?" Joe stammered.  
"I'm beginning to wish that the Flash was here right now." The Captain replied.  
As the two officers began shooting, Joe and Singh jumped out of the way, which gave Roy the perfect opportunity to make his escape. As Singh unarmed one of the officers, Joe took a shot at Roy. The bullet struck him in the leg making him buckle and fall.

Joe then got back to his feet and unarmed the other officer before he could shoot at him. Kicking his weapon away from him and cuffing him.  
As Singh hovered over Roy, he cuffed his wrists from behind him, ensuring that he did not lock eye contact with the man.  
Once Roy had been cuffed, his eyes turned to a normal brown shade. But the officers were still manipulated with anger. Fortunately, they were both restrained and no longer a threat.

Singh and Joe led all three of them into the back of the police car ready to take them back to CCPD.  
As Captain Singh drove back to the precinct, Joe checked his phone. "Singh we're going to have to step on it! It looks like there is some sort of commotion with the Flash on the rooftop of CCPD."

"We're on it! How's STAR Labs going with that project?" Singh shot back as he drove as fast as he could through the traffic, with his sirens and lights blaring.  
Joe rang Astrid back, "Astrid, how's that project coming along? We have Roy cuffed in the back, but it hasn't stopped his influence."  
"It's coming along… I just wish I had taken at least one advanced computing program at school, this was always Cisco's expertise but I'm doing my best. We have another set-back. Caitlin has gone. She's no longer at STAR Labs."

"I'll keep an eye out for her, get that program up and running asap." Joe finished as he ended the call in time for their patrol car to arrive at the police department.  
Joe and Singh climbed out of the car in a stunned bewilderment at the sight that beheld them on the rooftop, just in time for Iris to come running towards him.  
"Dad, Eddie is up there… I didnt realize that he was a speedster, he's up against the Flash. I don't think he's the good guy!"  
"What's she talking about, Joe? Eddie's one of us!" Captain Singh replied.

"I think she might be right, Captain… I think Eddie may have been whammied." Joe replied.  
"But that doesn't explain that blue lightning that he is letting off. Wait, is that related to the blue dust?" Singh asked, but the group, along with the rest of the officers at CCPD, who had not been tainted by Roy's power, continued to look on at the blur of yellow and blue lightning that hovered above the precinct.  
"We're gathering a crowd, brother!" Eddie said bitterly, "Why won't you just admit defeat!"

Barry didn't answer, he was taking every one of his frustrations out on Eddie. As he continued to punch and dodge, in a way that would make his friends proud, he knew that Eddie was his ultimate match.  
"Admit it, Eddie. You hate me for growing up with our family. But you're forgetting that I had to witness our mother's death. I had to watch as our father was falsely accused, and was sent to prison, I had to…"

"…go and live with Joe and Iris? Who were the perfect foster family?" Eddie snarled, "You don't know anything about having it rough, about being ridiculed every day of your life, about never finding your own place… about watching vigilantes steal the credit from the real heroes…"  
"Do you hate me because I'm the Flash? Or because I got to know our family?" Barry lashed.  
"Both, this just makes me hate you all the more… and I will stop you."  
"Well, let me see you try…" Barry said confidently, and with two swift motions he wound his arm and caused a super-sonic punch. It hit Eddie right in the cheek and he fell to the floor.

Barry suddenly heard Astrid's voice in his communicator.  
"Barry, I need you to look at the billboard across from you… here goes nothing…" As Barry was going to say something that he might regret later, he heeded her words and watched as the billboard began to display colors a sequence of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and again. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. The pattern continued to repeat itself over and over and it wasn't only displaying on the billboard, but on every billboard, television, computer, tablet and phone screen throughout Central City. Anywhere that had access to a network and a screen it played.

"Barry, how are you feeling?" she asked him.  
Barry wore a large smile on his face, he knew that he had recovered but he told her anyway, "I feel great… It's working… keep playing it… I'll be back…"  
Before he could finish his sentence, he was knocked to the floor. "Eddie… you need to look at the billboard." He told his brother. But, he knew that Eddie had already seen it.  
"Barry, this isn't the rage talking… this is all me… Get up! Get up, brother and let's end this!"


	8. Chapter 8

Astrid sat by the med-bay bed where she had moved Cisco to. He was still unconscious and she had been trying to contact Caitlin, to no avail. In her lap sat a tablet, ready to show Cisco the screen for when he awoke.

"Come on, Caitlin. Pick up! Where are you?" she said, attempting to call again, but received no answer.  
"Where did she go?" Cisco asked as he sat up and looked around.

Astrid immediately pointed the tablet's screen in his face. Where the colors played on repeat mode.  
"Ok, the TV in this place sucks, doc! What happened? And why does my face hurt? And what the hell is that thing that you keep showing me?" he asked puzzled, pushing away the tablet away.

"You mean you don't remember a thing?" she asked him sternly.  
Cisco scrunched his face up, "Should I? Hey, you're not wearing your bracelet so you could probably read my mind… but don't do that, please!"  
"Oh, thank god!" she said as she hugged him, ignoring the awkward tension.

Astrid could hear some interference coming from the comm system, it was Barry and he sounded like he was in trouble. She jumped from her seat and ran over to the microphone that was connected to the computer, with Cisco right behind her.  
"Barry…" Cisco called out. "What's going on?"

"Hey, Cisco… Oof! it's good to see that you're no longer in handcuffs… Ow! Where's Astrid?" Barry called out, very quickly. It sounded as if he was in the middle of a fight.  
"Handcuffs?" Cisco questioned her, but she ignored him. "Barry. I'm here! I thought it worked!"

"er… we have a problem, Eddie is still angry, and he is just as fast as me… any tips you guys? I think it's a little different to the blue flame drug!"  
"Barry, for as long as we have known Eddie, he's been normal up until a week ago…normal as in no powers, I mean… he's always been a creep! This has to be something new. We'll keep searching on our end, see what we can come up with. Maybe he was exposed to something… Cisco, can you run a search for any accidents that Eddie may have been involved in that we don't know about?"

"Doing it now, boss!"  
As Barry, listened to his friends communicate, he continued to duck and dodge out the way of Eddie's fast attacks. He wanted to attempt another supersonic punch but had not yet had the chance.

"Barry, it looks like we're finally equal at something." Eddie taunted him, but he was correct with his words. There had to be something to stop him. Barry saw it, just as he heard Cisco speak through the communicator.

Barry heard Cisco's voice directing his conversation to him, "Barry, I've run an extensive search of anything Eddie may have been involved in recently and nothing has come up. But then we realized, it's only been since last week. Eddie left in one of the patrol cars to visit one of his adopted relatives… who hear this, she died that night… in her will she left him some sort of heirloom which was connected to the blue flame…"

"What's the heirloom, Cisco?" Barry asked as he ducked another punch from Eddie.  
"I'm looking, I'm looking…" Cisco began.

Then suddenly Astrid called out, "Barry! It's a necklace… I saw it on him the other night! It looks old!"  
"Thanks guys!" Barry called out. But then he saw it. The blue and gold talisman around the man's neck, tucked just inside his shirt.  
The two of them were fighting on the edge of Central City's roof top. They could fall at any moment.

Eddie went to run for him, ready to push him off the ledge but Barry dodged the attack. Just as Barry swiped the talisman from his neck, Eddie was distracted and slipped to the edge of the roof. He was holding on to the railings and his feet were dangling in midair.  
Barry went to grab at Eddie's hand, but Eddie wouldn't take it.

"Eddie, please… take my hand." Barry called out.  
"Call me Malcom. My brother." Eddie said.  
As Eddie let go of the railing, preparing to plummet of CCPD's rooftop, Barry used his speed to run to the ground below him, ready to catch him. But Eddie never landed on to the floor.

Barry searched the entire town looking for his brother and saw no sign of him. There was no body. It was as if his brother had completely vanished. So with the talisman in hand, Barry retired back to STAR Labs.


	9. Chapter 9

"So Roy's in custody, the cuffs dampened his powers, the City is saved and, Eddie, er Malcom… is nowhere to be found!" Barry said as he joined Astrid and Cisco in their office at STAR Labs.

"What do you mean, nowhere to be found?" Astrid asked him.  
"Just that. I saw him fall off CCPD's roof top and I went to catch him and he was gone. I scoured every part of CCPD and Central City."  
"I'm sure that he will turn up at work tomorrow." Cisco replied, "that guy will stop at nothing to be CCPD's top cop!"

"You're probably right. I hope you're right… but it turns out, that this is what gave him his powers." Barry said, showing them the talisman.  
Cisco ran and grabbed what looked like an oven mitt, took the talisman from Barry's hand and left to lock it away, saying "We really can't be too careful… Magic talismans are always cursed!"

"Barry, do you remember anything that happened when you were raged out?" Astrid asked.  
"I do, and I really really need to start apologizing. I love my job, I love you guys… and everything I said, I mean while I meant them at the time, I…"  
"Barry, it's okay. I get it, no need for apologizing. I guess we need to ease up on you a little. But anyway, I was asking because of…" she looked over at Cisco from across the room. He was locking the talisman into a vault.

"He doesn't know what happened to him?" Barry asked her, a little surprised.  
"Well, he says he doesn't. But I'm not going to probe his mind to find out. But something might have happened between us… but then… Hey, I found out that he was whammied and that was a big mistake."  
"What actually happened? Or might have happened between the two of you?"

"Between who?" Cisco asked as he ran over to them.  
"Caitlin!" Astrid improvised. "She's gone… but after I looked everywhere, I noticed a note on her table saying that she saw the colors… they worked… and she's gone over to Gotham City to find Ronnie and Martin… she told us not to follow… but I'm sorry, there's no way in hell that we're not going to follow her, right?"  
"I'll go look, now!" Barry said and he left.

"Astrid… I didn't do anything that I probably shouldn't have, while I was under the influence… because I was under the influence you know and just like Barry I mean, he couldn't control himself, and…"

Astrid wanted to tell him the truth. Deep down, she knew that he knew the truth. She wondered how things would have turned out for the two of them if he hadn't been whammied. But that was what had happened. So she lied. "No, Cisco. We didn't do anything, nothing that we shouldn't have."  
"Hey, what do you mean 'we'? I said I!"

Immediately, Barry had returned. But Caitlin was not with him.  
"You guys… I couldn't find her…" Barry said, stricken with panic. "I think this is a job for all of us."  
"All of us?" Astrid repeated his words.

"You mean… we're going to Gotham City?" Cisco said excitedly.  
"I mean… we're going to Gotham City!" Barry agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

Caitlin drove out of Central City and in to the direction of Gotham City, as fast as she could. She had left a note and had slipped out unnoticed by her friends, as they had a city to save. But Caitlin had been cured by her own rainbow project. She had received a message from an anonymous person claiming that they knew where Ronnie was. So of course, Caitlin was determined to find him.

Suddenly, she saw a silhouette standing in the middle of the road. It was night time and as her lights shone brightly at the figure, she stopped in an instant. She climbed out of her car and looked around.

But there was no one in sight. "Hello?" she called out. But she thought that maybe it had been her imagination. She climbed back into her car. As she attempted to put her seatbelt on, she felt the soft cloth being pressed against her face.  
She felt tired. Someone had chloroformed her. She fell asleep.  
She didn't see the person who pushed her over into the front passenger side of her car. Using gloves, to not be traced, they drove her car the rest of the way to Gotham City.


End file.
